Press Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) Clint Watson confirmed yesterday he is working with state broadcaster ZNS as it goes through an “improvement and upgrade” in its news department.
Watson also confirmed that he will be staying on as OPM press secretary, prompting concerns that the two roles amount to a conflict of interest.
“I am the press secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister. That has not changed; that is what I do,” Watson told reporters yesterday at an OPM press briefing.
“ZNS is going through an improvement, an upgrade in their news department. They’re pulling on expertise from myself having been able to have a successful term with Eyewitness News.
“I’m assisting them and helping them to be able to do that. As press secretary, BIS and ZNS are a portfolio; it comes under the Office of the Prime Minister. I’m doing what I do every day, trying to fulfill my job description.”
Watson said he won’t be reimbursed for the role.
“It is not a paid assignment,” he said.
Watson worked as a reporter and editor at the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas before serving as news director at Eyewitness News. He assumed the role of OPM press secretary shortly after the Progressive Liberal Party was elected to government in September 2021.
While some may see his new role as a conflict, he insisted the government isn’t interfering at ZNS.
“ZNS will probably think that you get more favoritism than they do with stories and so forth,” Watson suggested.
“No, there’s no interference. We are not interfering on that level. We are trying to help them with the upgrade and restructure.
“We play by the same rules. You imagine how people feel when they think I came from Eyewitness News and Eyewitness is get all the scoops. No, we play; that’s not our mandate, not our focus. We’re just trying to help out.”
Back in 2017, then-Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis promised to transform ZNS from a “state propaganda machine” to a “properly functioning public broadcasting corporation”. However, no significant changes were made at the state broadcaster.
It is unclear how Watson will separate his mandate as OPM press secretary from the journalistic mandates of a news organization.
Watson was eventually pressed on the matter by another reporter.
“Whenever you call me for a story or information, I assist you,” Watson said. “I don’t give anyone preferential treatment. The press office is here to assist all of you.
“Had there been concerns before, people would have mentioned them before. I’ve assisted other organizations … and there’s never been a concern or an issue.
“We try to operate with integrity. We will continue to serve you here at the press office and that doesn’t come with favoritism or anything of the sort.
“We continue to try and do our best to serve the media, to make sure that we have under this administration we’re able to better your conditions, better your opportunities for interviews and we will continue to do just that.
“I’m not being transferred, getting a consultant job, being paid. It’s all part of a day’s work.”
